It's Not Too Late

Today is the start of tough love. For all the kids. Whether or not any one's ready.

I'm too tired to be doing anything else.

Since January, we've been working with baby girl. She's got issues. No doubt about it. One of the many is her inability to sleep through the night. She likes to add into the issue a nice helping of vomiting. I'm not so fond of this.

But I have to tell you, I'm tired.
Really tired.

So, tough love it is. Vomit or not. She's going to be sleeping through the night on her own in the next month or so. And. She's going to have to get to it on her own. There isn't going to be any more nights of me going in and settling her, or rocking her, or giving her a bottle or anything else. She's going to have to sleep, or stay awake. Either way, I have to sleep at night.

Next is the boys. They seem to need some tough love too.

They really aren't bad boys, but I think if I don't get on them soon, they will be.

I'm reading a book or two on Love & Logic. It seems like the way to go, although a serious challenge with special needs kids. But before they're special needs, they're kids, so L&L it is. Or at least a real hardy try at it.

For a long time, I've had that excuse of special needs to wash over some really poor parenting on my part. Time to let go of the labels and excuses and time to step up and be a better parent.

In the past, what I've seen is that Love and Logic does work. Even with my boys. It's just that it isn't my fall back style. I want it to be, but somehow when I'm exhausted and frustrated beyond reason, love and logic is about the last thing to come to mind.

So it seems that some of this tough love is going to be work for me and not so much them. That's OK. We'll do it together. Are they ready for a shift? Probably not. Am I? Sort of. I see clearly that change has to happen for us to stay on a even keel.

I'd like for the majority of our family time to be peaceful and pleasant. I know there'll be days, but I'd like them to be the exception. I'm sure they'll like that part too.